Brand Positioning: For People and Planet

Brand positioning refers to the strategic process of establishing a distinctive place for a brand in the minds of its constituents. It is the major part of realigning how we talk about UVM. It is the message that springs directly from the underlying mission that guides the work of faculty, staff, and students and is the through-line for our interactions with individuals on- and off-campus

How is UVM distinct?  The answers to this question helped us understand the essence of the UVM brand and develop a guiding light for how we communicate about our institution through the following brand positioning statement:

"For individuals committed to a thriving future for people and planet, UVM is the leading university where discovery, creativity, community, and action coalesce to secure a healthier, greener tomorrow."

For People and Planet.

Evolving the Brand, Together

Our brand was developed through a series of listening and brainstorming sessions over the past year with constituents from across the university community. Those contributors, plus many others, provided clarity on our unique, contemporary strengths as an institution, and helped refocus the narrative to ensure we're telling the story of UVM clearly and effectively on the world stage. There are important tools that can help keep that story consistent; these are physical assets such as logo marks, standardized typefaces and colors, and positioning statements that guide the tone of communications and highlight UVM’s core values.

Visual Changes

The most visible branding tool is the university’s logo. Since the early 1990s, UVM’s logomark (the icon part of the logo) has been a depiction of the tower of Old Mill, outlined in a rectangular box. At the same time, the logomark of UVM Athletics is a classic, prominent letter “V” and leaping catamount. With UVM’s newly refreshed branding, the tower logomark is transitioning to retirement. Going forward, UVM will unify its brand under a refined V logomark outlined by a shield.

Why the Change?

Beyond unity, the move to the V promotes an even broader message. The tower logo marked the university geographically, with one structure at the top of the hill in Burlington. But the work of UVM encompasses efforts far and wide: as the state’s land-grant institution, it supports people, businesses, farms, and organizations throughout all 14 counties of the state. UVM also looks far beyond Vermont’s state borders to attract students, faculty members, and research partners–people for whom the outline of a particular building has little meaning. The new V logomark supports the message of UVM’s expansive mission and sparks visual recognition to the institution’s broad statewide, national, and international audiences. Combined with the university’s name in a refined typeface, the new logo builds a higher level of brand recognition and distinction.

Along with the new logomark, new typefaces and colors have been chosen to modernize the look of the university’s communications and further ensure all aspects of our university are visually consistent, connected, and recognizable as distinctly UVM.

Timeline

By design, the transition to new brand materials will occur over time rather than all at once—both to mitigate the financial and environmental impacts of adjusting highly-visible aspects of our brand; and to strategically align our campus around these changes. Below is a loose timeline for our immediate key milestones along this process: